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We will maintain intensive cooperation, says Linkevičius after visiting the US Congress

Created: 2018.03.07
/ Updated: 2018.03.07 10:39

On 6 March in Washington, D.C., the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius, together with his Latvian and Estonian counterparts, visited the United States Congress, where they held meetings with representatives of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. The Baltic Foreign Ministers met with the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives Ed Royce and the Committee’s Ranking Member Eliot Engel, the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Bob Corker and the Committee’s Ranking Member Robert Menendez, and the Senator James Risch.

“The Baltic states have always felt the support of the U.S. Congress, the full support of the U.S. and its people in the struggle for independence and consolidation. We will maintain intensive cooperation in all fields,” said Lithuania’s Foreign Minister. Members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives emphasized unity with the Baltic states and expressed gladness that the U.S., Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia enjoyed a solid partnership.

The meetings focused on defence and security issues of importance to the Baltic states, specific congressional support projects aimed at increasing the Baltic states’ resilience to both military and hybrid threats. The interlocutors highlighted the significance of energy independence of the Baltic states and the U.S. willingness to cooperate in achieving this goal. As regards the region’s security, the interlocutors raised the issue of the construction of the Ostrovets nuclear power plant in Belarus and discussed the relationship with Russia, as well as the situation in Ukraine.